Halo: The Great Journey: The Art of Building Worlds is a hardcover art book that chronicles the artwork behind the Halo universe from 2001 to 2011. It is part of 343 Industries' plans for the ten-year anniversary celebration of the franchise.[1] Published by reference/companion and art book specialists Titan Books, Halo: The Great Journey was organized and designed by Martin Robinson, a Halo enthusiast and award-winning journalist for Eurogamer and IGN UK. It features over 400 concept art pieces, sketches and commentaries and was released on October 18th, 2011.

Contents

The award-winning Halo series of video games is 10 years old. Having sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, millions of fans have spent billions of hours with the Master Chief and Noble Six, defeating the Covenant and saving the Universe. Now, for the first time in a single art book, Halo: The Great Journey: The Art of Building Worlds brings together a lavish and spectacular collection of groundbreaking art from the entire range of Halo games. This is the ultimate gallery of the Halo universe, with over 400 images including sketches, commentary, and concept art from all stages of development, including characters, weapons, and sweeping landscapes as envisioned by more than thirty of the amazing artists behind the first ten years of Halo including Isaac Hannaford, Shi Kai Wang, Frank Capezzuto and Jaime Jones.

From the earliest concepts for Pillar of Autumn and The Maw to the streets of New Mombasa, from the Master Chief to Noble Six, here you’ll find unparalleled access to the artistic innovation of the Halo archive charting the glorious decade that gave us HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED, HALO 2, HALO 3, HALO WARS, HALO 3: ODST, Halo Legends and HALO: REACH.

Opening with a review of how it all began — the Forerunners, their weapons and their worlds, the Ark, the ringworlds, and “The Silent Cartographer,” We Are Their Instruments delves into the design of the covenant forces — in turn, the elites, jackals, skirmishers, brutes, grunts and hunters take centre stage. Truth and Reconciliation and High Charity form the centrepieces for an overview of Covenant technology, with details on the designs for the corvettes and Scarabs, the Covenant ground fleet—and the fall of Reach—plus dropships, Phantoms, Spirits, Banshees and many more. Then it’s time to face The Flood. Discover the artists who brought the horror of The Flood to life, who detailed the pureforms, the attacks, the spread of infection and the awesome ultimate parasite, the Gravemind.

Welcome to the Corps introduces the heroes of Halo and collects the artists’ thoughts behind the designs of the UNSC troops, Cortana and Dr Halsey, Jacob and Miranda Keyes, and Lord Hood. UNSC weaponry, designs and details for the marines, Spartans and ODST, plus Warthog & Scorpion concepts, and a look at UNSC air power culminates in stunning Pillar of Autumn pieces. Of course, he gets his own chapter. The Master Chief. The artists who created this seminal hero reveal the secrets of the Master Chiefs’ development through a stunning array of artworks, early concept sketches and death-defying action shots.

Concluding with the visualisations of the Halo homeworlds, Halo: The Great Journey: The Art of Building Worlds reveals the designs behind Reach, Harvest, Arcadia and Earth, with features on Crow’s Nest, Tsavo Highway, the artefact, New Alexandria and New Mombasa, plus Reach wildlife and interiors, and the detailing and designing of worlds under alien attack.

A 1,000 numbered copy UK-exclusive limited edition was also released. This edition features a unique slipcase cover as well as four hand-signed prints of Halo artwork. Included are the following pieces: